Roy Robertson was a soldier at Pearl Harbor in 1941:
"My ship, the West Virginia, docked at Pearl Harbor on the evening of December
6, 1941. A couple of the fellows and I left the ship that night and attended a
Bible study. About fifteen sailors sat in a circle on the floor. The leader
asked us to each recite our favorite Scripture verse. In turn each sailor shared
a verse and briefly commented on it.
I sat there in terror. I couldn't recall a single
verse. I grew up in a Christian home, went to church three times a week, but I
sat there terrified. I couldn't recall a single verse. Finally, I remembered one
verse - John 3:16. I silently rehearsed it in my mind. The spotlight of
attention grew closer as each sailor took his turn. It was up to the fellow next
to me. He recited John 3:16. He took my verse! As he commented on it I sat there
in stunned humiliation. In a few moments everyone would know that I could not
recall from memory even a single verse. Later that night I went to bed thinking,
'Robertson, you're a fake.'
At 7:55 the next morning I was awakened by the ship
alarm ordering us to battle stations. 360 planes of the Japanese Imperial Fleet
were attacking our ship and the other military installations. My crew and I
raced to our machine gun emplacement, but all we had was practice ammunition. So
for the first fifteen minutes of the two-hour battle, we only fired blanks
hoping to scare the Japanese airplanes.
As I stood there firing fake ammunition I thought,
'Robertson, this is how your whole life has been - firing blanks for Christ.' I
made up my mind as Japanese bullets slammed into our ship, "If I escape with my
life, I will get serious about following Jesus." Roy Robertson did get serious.
He became the first missionary of "The Navigators" and did a lot of work with
Billy Graham as well.
Are you growing mature in the Lord or are you firing
blanks for Christ? Today in prayer, examine your walk with the Lord and seek to
grow deeper in maturity with Him.
"Four stages of growth in Christian maturity: Love of
self for self's sake. Love of God for self's sake. Love of God for God's sake.
Love of self for God's sake." - Bernard of Clairvaux
God's Word: "Instead, speaking the truth in love, we
will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ." -
Ephesians 4:15
By Peter Kennedy, Copyright 2003, Devotional E-Mail
DEVOTIONS IN 1 CORINTHIANS
pkennedy@devotional.com
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